tag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:/discussions/problems/73441-encryption-failed-unusable-public-keyGPGTools: Discussion 2018-05-02T15:22:08Ztag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T06:31:37Z2018-05-02T06:31:38ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am having same issue.</p></div>Zlatkotag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T07:52:15Z2018-05-02T07:52:15ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Hi David and Zlatko,</p>
<p>welcome to the GPGTools support platform. Sorry you are having problems using GPG Suite.</p>
<p>Let's check if your key is ok:</p>
<ol>
<li>open GPG Keychain<br></li>
<li>double click your sec/pub key<br></li>
<li>search for "Validity" in <strong>key tab</strong> and post the value to your discussion<br></li>
<li>search for "Validity" in <strong>subkey tab</strong> and post the value to your discussion</li>
</ol>
<p>Should your key have expired, please re-new the expiration date in the key tab. To renew the subkey, click the cogwheel icon in the subkey tab and update the expiration date.</p>
<p>To test the change, send a signed and encrypted test email to yourself. Are you able to decrypt and verify the signature successfully?</p>
<p>In case your key resides on the public key servers, don't forget to upload your updated key, so that the changes are reflected there as well.</p>
<p>We have open tickets to address this problem. Ideally GPG Keychain and GPGMail would be more pro-active about expiring keys and inform users ahead of the expiry date and explain how by extending the expiry date the key can be used in the future.</p>
<p>Best regards,<br>
Steve</p></div>Stevetag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T15:07:29Z2018-05-02T15:07:31ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Oh, I have an expired subkey. I wasn't even aware that I had subkeys.</p>
<p>I got a notice a few weeks ago that my keys were expiring. They had no expiration date. So I made on. I didn't even notice the subkeys tab. Will have to figure out if I even need subkeys. Also, would be nice if I could update all expiration dates for a key and its subkeys at once.</p>
<p>Now off to figure out whether I need these subkeys.</p></div>David Wheelertag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T15:09:01Z2018-05-02T15:09:01ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Subkeys are expected and the default is to have one subkey.</p>
<p>More info about what a Subkey is can be found here:</p>
<p>The <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/Subkeys">Debian Wiki</a> has an explanation of what subkeys are as well as to why and how they are utilized. It's worth the time.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/31594/what-is-a-good-general-purpose-gnupg-key-setup">Stack Exchange</a> has additional info.</p></div>Stevetag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T15:12:30Z2018-05-02T15:12:30ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Ah, yes, very useful, thanks. The error is especially annoying since I almost never encrypt messages.</p></div>David Wheelertag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T15:20:16Z2018-05-02T15:20:16ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>The error will be gone if you extend the subkey. We have open tickets to improve that. A warning with easy steps to fix the situation would be a good idea.</p></div>Stevetag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T15:21:19Z2018-05-02T15:21:22ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Yes, fix confirmed. Thank you!</p></div>David Wheelertag:gpgtools.tenderapp.com,2011-11-04:Comment/452068462018-05-02T15:22:04Z2018-05-02T15:22:04ZGPGMail: encryption failed: Unusable public key<div><p>Perfect. Glad, this is solved for you. I'm closing this discussion. Should you need further assistance or have questions you can re-open this discussion here or open a new one any time.</p>
<p>Best,<br>
steve</p></div>Steve